Win over women, and the men will follow

Marketing spend is a significant and sometimes risky investment for small businesses, but regardless of business type – business-to-business or business-to-consumer – focusing your marketing efforts on targeting women could be a real game-changer.

Women have the potential to be a highly profitable target audience for small business owners. The reason for this is because once you have won women over, they tend to be more brand-loyal and are more inclined to offer referrals and recommendations than men. However, women are also complex, so a considered and nuanced approach to gaining their loyalty is needed; one that avoids being condescending or lumping all women into one homogenous group.

It’s important to remember that marketing to women doesn’t mean you will be alienating men; in fact there is a saying: “If you meet the expectation of women you often exceed the expectation of men.” Without being dismissive of marketing to men, if you get your marketing to women right you are more likely to effectively reach men, too.

So what does it take to be successful marketing directly to women?

Understand the purchasing power of women

Women’s sheer economic strength means businesses can vastly improve bottom line profit and create invaluable brand ambassadors. They control up to 85% of consumer purchasing decisions and account for nearly half of all purchases in traditionally male-dominated categories such as cars and electronics. Companies that recognise this and market themselves accordingly will break through the advertising clutter and encourage brand loyalty.

Know your audience and be authentic

Brands that assume they know what women want risk striking the wrong balance. It is essential to leave stereotypical assumptions aside and really get to know your audience. In order to build meaningful, genuine customer experiences, businesses need to appeal to women’s ambitions, dreams, aspirations and needs.

Women today play many roles, managing careers and family life, childcare and finances. With women demanding more from organisations as their purchasing influence grows, you need to demonstrate how your product or service can help them balance time, money and wellbeing, or address a specific need. In addition, it is essential for a brand to be genuine. Authenticity is hugely important to women and this is the way to gain their trust and ultimately connect with them for the long term.

Be sociable

Women are the more active users of social media, they are well-informed (with 85% of women researching online before they make a purchase) and brand- literate. This means brands need to work hard at gaining their trust if they are to create advocates and encourage social sharing. Recent studies show that women tend to trust their friends and peers more than large corporate brands and will seek advice and guidance in online forums or on social media.

Increasingly women look to buy from brands that reflect their values and will take their lead from recommendations and reviews on social media. In fact the statistics paint an interesting picture:

• 40 million more women than men use Twitter
  
• Pinterest’s profile is 70% female and drives more business and referrals than Google+ and LinkedIn combined
  
• Mothers are some of the most active female consumers online and adopt new technologies faster that the average person.

This is good news for small businesses as they can often be more agile and responsive than their larger counterparts. Don’t be afraid to be open about your philosophy and what you care about. It is a key part of her decision process. And give her the tools to try, share and recommend and provide content that will start a conversation.

Create great experiences on and off line

The way women shop has evolved, driven largely by shifting economies, digital and social media and a more empowered attitude to shopping. This means brands can no longer simply rely on great products and clever advertising to secure a sale.

Small businesses have a real advantage here because the web is a great enabler that can help them make a lasting impact without the major overheads. But to be truly effective and keep customers returning again and again, the customer experience needs to exceptional at every interaction with the brand: from how they first research and interact with you online, to the retail or sales experience, to how the product looks, feels and performs, right down to how it is delivered.

Sam Ellison is founding partner at Redshoe Brand Design, which helps companies develop female-friendly brands. She is also the UK representative on the steering committee for M2W, the world’s biggest annual conference about marketing to women.

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